Hundreds of people stood in front of a stage in downtown Jackson, Mississippi, waiting for the rally to start, when a woman’s voice rang through the crowd. “What we gonna do?” she shouted. “SHUT IT DOWN!” the crowd yelled back. “What we gonna do?” “SHUT IT DOWN!” “What we gonna do?” “SHUT IT DOWN!” The protesters had gathered at the intersection of Mississippi and North Congress, in the shadow of the state Capitol. Hip-hop blared from the speakers, activists circulated leaflets, and posters carried messages for the news cameras clustered on a nearby platform. One read: “Somebody’s hurting...…Hundreds of people stood in front of a stage in downtown Jackson, Mississippi, waiting for the rally to start, when a woman’s voice rang through the crowd. “What we gonna do?” she shouted. “SHUT IT DOWN!” the crowd yelled back. “What we gonna do?” “SHUT IT DOWN!” “What we gonna do?” “SHUT IT DOWN!” The protesters had gathered at the intersection of Mississippi and North Congress, in the shadow of the state Capitol. Hip-hop blared from the speakers, activists circulated leaflets, and posters carried messages for the news cameras clustered on a nearby platform. One read: “Somebody’s hurting...WW…

Less than four hours before Corey Johnson was scheduled to die — the second of three people killed in the federal death chamber the week before President Donald Trump left office — the Rev. Bill Breeden sat at a picnic table a few miles from the penitentiary mulling his last words. As Johnson’s minister of record, Breeden had agreed to read a final statement on his behalf. “I took notes on what he wants to say and kind of put it together,” he told me. Anyone who had corresponded with Johnson knew that his writing skills were limited. “He’s childlike in a lot of ways,” Breeden said. “But...…Less than four hours before Corey Johnson was scheduled to die — the second of three people killed in the federal death chamber the week before President Donald Trump left office — the Rev. Bill Breeden sat at a picnic table a few miles from the penitentiary mulling his last words. As Johnson’s minister of record, Breeden had agreed to read a final statement on his behalf. “I took notes on what he wants to say and kind of put it together,” he told me. Anyone who had corresponded with Johnson knew that his writing skills were limited. “He’s childlike in a lot of ways,” Breeden said. “But...WW…

, In the last days of December, as the president played golf while ignoring both the coronavirus pandemic and the bombing of a U.S. city on Christmas morning, federal prosecutors were working overtime to grant him a parting gift in the name of law and order. After 10 executions in five months, the Department of Justice was planning one last round of killings in the federal death chamber. The executions would bring Donald Trump’s tally to 13, more than any president since Franklin Roosevelt.Never mind that the last two men slated to die, Corey Johnson and Dustin Higgs, had recently been...…, In the last days of December, as the president played golf while ignoring both the coronavirus pandemic and the bombing of a U.S. city on Christmas morning, federal prosecutors were working overtime to grant him a parting gift in the name of law and order. After 10 executions in five months, the Department of Justice was planning one last round of killings in the federal death chamber. The executions would bring Donald Trump’s tally to 13, more than any president since Franklin Roosevelt.Never mind that the last two men slated to die, Corey Johnson and Dustin Higgs, had recently been...WW…

On a Saturday morning in November, Gary McClung sat at a picnic table with his wife overlooking a field off the banks of the Duck River in Tennessee. It was sunny and mild. Local vendors sold produce under a pavilion. In the fall, Centerville River Park, some 60 miles southwest of Nashville, hosts the annual National Banana Pudding Festival, featuring music, face painting, and a cook-off. This year, the event was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.The McClungs live in nearby Lobelville, home to an Old Order Christian community that first attracted them to the area. But...…On a Saturday morning in November, Gary McClung sat at a picnic table with his wife overlooking a field off the banks of the Duck River in Tennessee. It was sunny and mild. Local vendors sold produce under a pavilion. In the fall, Centerville River Park, some 60 miles southwest of Nashville, hosts the annual National Banana Pudding Festival, featuring music, face painting, and a cook-off. This year, the event was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.The McClungs live in nearby Lobelville, home to an Old Order Christian community that first attracted them to the area. But...WW…

More federal executions have been carried out in 2020 than in the past 57 years combined.Sister Barbara Battista entered the death chamber and walked toward Keith Nelson as he lay strapped down to the gurney. Wearing an N95 mask and a light blue T-shirt, she carried anointing oil, a book of psalms, and tucked inside it, a handbill labeled Execution Prayer Service. The room was small and sterile, lined with pale green tile. A warden stood a few feet away, along with a U.S. Marshal and another man in a suit — the executioner. The man gestured toward a piece of blue tape on the...…More federal executions have been carried out in 2020 than in the past 57 years combined.Sister Barbara Battista entered the death chamber and walked toward Keith Nelson as he lay strapped down to the gurney. Wearing an N95 mask and a light blue T-shirt, she carried anointing oil, a book of psalms, and tucked inside it, a handbill labeled Execution Prayer Service. The room was small and sterile, lined with pale green tile. A warden stood a few feet away, along with a U.S. Marshal and another man in a suit — the executioner. The man gestured toward a piece of blue tape on the...WW…

Richard Carrillo walked out of the Federal Correctional Institution at Otisville feeling nervous. It was March 24 and he was getting ready to board a shuttle bus in Middletown, New York, to make the 70-mile trip to Port Authority in Manhattan — the first leg of a long journey home. “I didn’t think it was safe at all, to be honest with you,” he said. Carrillo had been following the news. He knew that New York City had become the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. “I mean, I’m just getting out of BOP and you’re gonna send me to Manhattan to wait at the bus terminal for one, two, three,...…Richard Carrillo walked out of the Federal Correctional Institution at Otisville feeling nervous. It was March 24 and he was getting ready to board a shuttle bus in Middletown, New York, to make the 70-mile trip to Port Authority in Manhattan — the first leg of a long journey home. “I didn’t think it was safe at all, to be honest with you,” he said. Carrillo had been following the news. He knew that New York City had become the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. “I mean, I’m just getting out of BOP and you’re gonna send me to Manhattan to wait at the bus terminal for one, two, three,...WW…

Abe Bonowitz was on Facebook earlier this month when he noticed someone liking a series of pictures on his page. They were all old photos of his friend and fellow anti-death penalty activist Jerry Givens. “It occurred to me to check his page,” Bonowitz said. And that’s how he found out that Givens had died. He had Covid-19.Givens, 67, was on the board of , an abolitionist group Bonowitz co-founded in 2017. He was the unlikeliest of allies. In his previous life working for the Virginia Department of Corrections, Givens had been the state’s chief executioner. Between 1982 and 1999, he carried...…Abe Bonowitz was on Facebook earlier this month when he noticed someone liking a series of pictures on his page. They were all old photos of his friend and fellow anti-death penalty activist Jerry Givens. “It occurred to me to check his page,” Bonowitz said. And that’s how he found out that Givens had died. He had Covid-19.Givens, 67, was on the board of , an abolitionist group Bonowitz co-founded in 2017. He was the unlikeliest of allies. In his previous life working for the Virginia Department of Corrections, Givens had been the state’s chief executioner. Between 1982 and 1999, he carried...WW…